We knew the Bears were blind when it came to quarterbacks. They couldn’t draft and develop a great one, so they tried trading for one, and the Bears’ care and feeding of the most important position in the game is proving as ignorant as their previous attempts to grow their own.

The Bears are killing Jay Cutler’s career, killing the franchise’s future, and they are proving to be deaf to the quarterback’s cries for help.

Cutler took to the podium Wednesday in the wake of yet another diastrous offensive performance. Against the Lions, the Bears looked unprofessional and uncoached --- false starts, failure to get plays in, horrific blocking and inept receiving. Thanks for coming, ladies and gentlemen.

And Cutler sounded sick of being put in a position to fail. Or worse, die. He wants to get rid of the ball quicker, which means enough with those cockamamie seven-step drops that his line can’t block and his receivers can’t run.

And about that protection, how about a little help? Tight ends? Anyone?

Worst of all, though, Cutler’s game has devolved. He didn’t use the word “devolve’’ and he’s coming off a heroic performance in Detroit, but that’s the deal.

Cutler admitted that the beating he has taken over the last two seasons has created bad habits. Spooked by consistently miserable protection and consistently stupid play-calling, Cutler said the clock in his head runs faster because opposing defensive linemen all run faster than Frank Omiyale and J’Marcus Webb and Chris Williams and . . .

Cutler also said he has developed the bad habit of taking his eyes off downfield play because he can’t trust his blockers. Looking as if you're auditioning for "Jackass 4.0'' makes you jumpy. This confluence of stink and terror does not have a happy ending.

What’s more, Cutler also sounds like he doesn’t trust Mike Martz. He certainly wants no part of being Martz’s study buddy. When asked about the game plan, Cutler always answers that it’s not his deal, he’s just following. That’s code for “Go ask the ‘Genius.’’’

But here’s the thing: The quarterback shouldn’t really need to say such things to wake up the place.

Shouldn’t the “Genius’’ know this stuff? Shouldn’t the head coach at least give it a passing thought between wasting timeouts and blowing challenges? Shouldn’t the general manager have the right tools in place to make this work?

No, no, no --- they are both answers to the above questions and what Bears fans scream everytime the clowns in Lake Forest tell us Devin Hester is a No. 1 receiver.

Look, this is not about just changing the game plan. This is about changing the game planner. Martz remains as blind to truth as anybody at Halas Hall.

Martz arrogantly and stupidly calls plays the Bears cannot execute and should not be ordered to run. This is the greatest failure of any coach.

Losing games is one thing, but losing the quarterback is another. Martz is going to get run out of the building after this season anyway, so why wait? Get him out now while Cutler is theoretically salvageable.

John Shoop was bad, but he wasn’t dangerous to a quarterback’s health. He called plays to set up the punt. Jeez, I just publicly pined for John Shoop. This is sick.

But still, I could organize a better game plan using a Magic 8-Ball. At least I realize who the most important player in the building is. Martz doesn’t. Martz calls plays as if Cutler is followed by Dan Marino and he’s followed by Joe Montana. Martz arrogantly and stupidly calls plays as if quarterbacks come out of a Pez dispenser. Open up, get chewed up, do it again. Sort of the way the Bears offensive line performs.

The longer Martz stays, the more the Bears bolster the charge they have no idea what they’re doing at quarterback. They cannot protect him (you’re fired, Jerry Angelo), they cannot give him even one receiver that could start on Green Bay (you’re fired again, Jerry Angelo), they seem incapable of putting their players in position to succeed (you’re fired, Lovie Smith).

Cutler is asking for help. You can only hope Smith heard him, but chances are, that’s just more communication the Bears will screw up.